Modi government opts against ordinance on Citizenship Bill

Facing stiff opposition from its own allies in the Northeast, the Narendra Modi government has opted against an ordinance on the Citizenship Amendment Bill even as it approved four other ordinances at a meeting of the Union cabinet on Tuesday.

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There was speculation that the government may decide on promulgating the ordinance on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which was not passed by the Parliament in the Budget session, the last session before the Lok Sabha polls.

The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but not in Rajya Sabha where the Modi government lacks a majority.

Though Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are eager to pass the bill which seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), its ally in Assam, had left the alliance over the bill and several other allies in the Northeast had also strongly opposed the bill.

BJP chief Amit Shah had said in Guwahati on Sunday that the party will make the Citizenship Bill part of its manifesto for the next elections and pass it on return to power this year.

It remains to be seen if the BJP will tie-up with the AGP for the Lok Sabha polls since the latter had said it had broken with the BJP now over this bill but did not emphatically rule out an alliance “in the future”.

SpeedNews Desk at thenewsmill.com has the strongest nose for news. The News Mill is a Guwahati-based new-media house with focus on disseminating news through the newest form of media. Here's an effort to bring together the best of the news from across the Northeast, in a fresh new format. The editor can be reached through [email protected]